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CHAPTER FIVE: TO WHAT EXTENT IS RAS'S SERVICE EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT AND FAIR?

5.1 This chapter examines the extent to which RAS delivers its services efficiently, effectively and fairly. It also examines the extent to which RAS impacts on people's decisions to relocate to Scotland and whether RAS has altered customers' thinking about opportunities in Scotland .

EFFICIENCY

5.2 This section considers the costs and efficiency of service delivery of RAS. It details:

• the costs of RAS;
• time spent on different activities
• the costs by activity; and
• broad comparisons with other services.

Costs of RAS

5.3 The total costs of the RAS service in the last full financial year (2004-05) were £520,541 (Figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1 RAS costs 2004-05.

Source: RAS

5.4 The consultancy costs relate to start-up costs, for example putting systems and operations in place as well as to advise on RAS's overall strategy and its target groups. With the exception of maintenance of the IT system, these costs will not be replicated in forthcoming years. Staff costs of £110,000 were part year costs, as RAS was only operating for part of this financial year. Staff costs for 2005-06 (which will be a full year of operation) are budgeted to be around £260,000. The IT costs refer to IT equipment and the Language Line costs are for a telephone interpretation and translation service, which is projected to cost around £6,000 in the 2005-06 financial year.

Time spent on RAS activities

5.5 We undertook an analysis of RAS activity for the four RAS staff groups: administration, first-line Customer Service Advisors ( CSA), second-line CSAs and management. ¹⁵ To avoid identifying individual RAS staff, only an overview of these results is provided below. Sickness and annual leave were excluded from the analysis as data were only available from January - September 2005 and these are disproportionate compared to typical working months.

5.6 The analysis showed that management spent around three quarters of their time providing inputs to policy development and meeting with stakeholders - it is not the intention that management do customer facing work and this level of policy and stakeholder engagement are what would be expected for a new developing service. Customer service advisors and administrators spent around a third of their time on client facing activities such as writing responses, undertaking research, handling phone enquiries and face to face meetings. Most of the time was spent writing e-mail responses.

RAS costs by activity

5.7 Direct service costs for 2005-06 will be around £266,000, with staff costs of around £260,000 and interpretation and translation costs of about £6,000. Using 2004/05 activity levels, the 2005/06 full year costs are broken down by task in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2 Staff and other direct service related costs by task.

Source: RAS management data.

5.8 Over a quarter of service related costs (28%) is miscellaneous expenditure. This includes internal meetings and other organisational activity. General administration makes up 12% of these costs and policy discussions and formulation makes up 15% (not surprising given this is a relatively new service with overarching policy objectives). 23% of these costs relate to email activity, 8% to telephone enquiries, just 1% to face to face enquiries and less than 1% to letter correspondence.

5.9 Unit costs for customer service by method of communication are outlined in Figure 5.3. These figures are based on staff costs and the additional expenses incurred in dealing with the enquiries e.g. telephone and mail costs are not included.

5.10 Face to face contact (which includes preparation time and interview) had the highest direct unit cost at £28 (total number of interactions divided by the direct costs for this communication type). Telephone communication was the next most expensive (£27) and reflects the additional work that goes into this contact method. Email contact had a unit cost of just under £5. Letter correspondence was the least expensive method of communication (at just £1.34). This may be because mail enquiries are answered by another means of communication, e.g. are answered by telephone or e-mail.

Figure 5.3 Unit cost by communication type.

Source: RAS management data.

Broad comparisons with other services

5.11 Staff costs for 2005/06 are expected to be around £260,000. During 2004/05, operating costs, excluding staff costs, were around £67,000; this excluded consultancy fees and capital equipment purchased as part of the start up costs. Based on these costs and with nearly 7,000 clients in the first year of operation (from the beginning of operations in October 2004 to the end of September 2005), the average cost per client would have been around £47.

5.12 The National Audit Office investigated the delivery of public services through call centres ¹⁶. The findings of the study suggest that the cost per client may be higher for RAS than for the services considered by the National Audit Office. Of the 73 call centres considered, only three had costs above £5 per minute.

• Equality Direct (£27.50 per minute) - a new outsourced service started in January 2001 that initially had very low numbers of calls. The calls have, however, been steadily increasing each month since the service started
• Electronic Integrated Arable Compensation Scheme Helpdesk (£23.00) - a short-term call centre at the Rural Payments Agency, in operation from February to May 2002, which took calls concerning an electronic form for lodging claims under an EU compensation scheme
• Contact a Family (£10.50 per minute) - an outsourced call centre that provides information and advice on medical conditions affecting children for parents and carers of children with disabilities, and puts families in touch with other families, support groups and specialist voluntary organisations.

5.13 All other call centres had costs below £5 per minute, with an average of £0.60 per minute, call centres covered in the wider study included the following.

• Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau - people of all nationalities, including British citizens, phone with general enquiries about nationality rules, enquiries about their immigration case, to notify of employers suspected of employing illegal immigrants, to request application forms, to report that they have not received their asylum support
• Immigration Appellate Authority, Lord Chancellor's Department - Appellates and their representatives phone for information on appeals of decisions by the Home Office regarding Asylum. For example, appeal decisions, how to appeal, appeal locations, to rearrange appointments and to book interpreters.

5.14 To allow more meaningful comparisons with the National Audit Office report the unit cost per customer for the RAS service was translated into cost per minute by estimating the average length of customer enquires. The cost per minute information is an estimate developed using the best available information and estimates by the study team; as such the data should be treated as indicative only.

5.15 The number of days spent by the RAS team dealing with customers was estimated at around 509 days, this covered email, postal correspondence and face to face meetings with customers. The aforementioned number of days includes supporting research and material updates, it excludes activities that are not part of the core customer service delivery such as inputs to policy, ministerial correspondence or reporting.

5.16 Assuming a 7.5 hour working day, just over 229,000 minutes were spent dealing with customers, suggesting the length of time spent per customer was around 33 minutes. This suggests an average cost per minute of around £1.43.

5.17 The key conclusions to draw from the above illustration are that:

• the average cost per minute is higher than the average cost per minute (£0.60) of the services investigated by the National Audit Office, but lower than a small number of bespoke small scale services; and
• the average cost per minute is likely to be higher due to postal correspondence and face to face meetings

5.18 RAS, however, is more than just a call centre and for many enquiries, its advisers may have to do some detailed work. It therefore becomes difficult to assess RAS's relative efficiency against that of similar organizations, but it does seem fair to argue that it seems to be within an acceptable range of costs per enquiry and per minute. Ultimately, the real measure of value for money from RAS will depend on the extent to which potential migrants are encouraged to move to Scotland. Due to the infancy of the service, there is little information on the number of people moving to Scotland after using RAS.

EFFECTIVENESS

5.19 This section considers the effectiveness of RAS. In particular:

• Customer satisfaction with RAS
• The time RAS takes to respond to enquiries
• Usefulness of information received
• Impact RAS has had on customers to relocate to or remain in Scotland
• Customer suggestions for improvement

The main source of evidence for this section is the customer survey and the qualitative interviews with customers ( Appendix A)

Customer satisfaction with RAS services

5.20 Around eight in ten (77%) customers felt satisfied with RAS overall, with 27% of customers very satisfied and 50% of customers fairly satisfied. (Figure 5.4)

Figure 5.4 - Overall satisfaction ratings with RAS

Base: All respondents (863)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.21 There was some variation in satisfaction ratings by different customer groups and this is explored in more detail in the section on fairness (see 5.4).

Satisfaction with particular aspects of RAS

5.22 The evaluation found that most customers would recommend RAS to someone else. The majority of customers (81%) said that they would recommend RAS with over half (54%) agreeing strongly (source: web survey).

5.23 RAS was also seen as communicating effectively with their customers. 68% of customers agreed that RAS communicated effectively with their customers and 11% disagreed (Figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5 - Agreement with statements about RAS

g0?

Base: All respondents (863)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.24 In the qualitative interviews with customers we asked whether they would use RAS again. Generally respondents said they would use RAS again. For those who would not, the main reasons were:

• They had no reason to recontact RAS
• They did not think that RAS met their needs

5.25 For example, one customer seeking employment felt that there would be no need to contact RAS again in the future, as he has already found out how to immigrate to Scotland. One employer stated that he would not contact RAS again as they could not help him:

"There's no need… They're just promoting Scotland and I can do that and there's loads of people contacting me through the web and our own web".

5.26 The remaining customers said that they would use RAS again. Nevertheless one or two customers placed caveats on contacting RAS again. For example one employer felt that RAS should offer more direct consultation for employers, and that if this was the case, then he would use them.

Satisfaction with RAS staff

5.27 The evaluation found that most customers who telephoned RAS were pleased with their interaction with members of staff. For example,

• 93% of customer survey respondents felt that the person they spoke to behaved in a professional manner,
• 84% felt they were helpful, and
• 80% felt they were knowledgeable (source: customer survey).

5.28 This finding is supported from the mystery shopping data which shows that almost all (97%) mystery shoppers phoning the service perceived staff members to be professional. Comments from the shoppers included:

"(NAME OF RAS EMPLOYEE) was very nice and helpful. They told me where to find all the relevant information and didn't try to get me off the phone."

" Member of staff was polite and pleasant. Explained themselves correctly over the phone."

5.29 In the qualitative customer interviews we spoke to one respondent who had received a phone call from RAS. She explained that the contact at RAS spent a lot of time and effort explaining her options. This student felt that RAS "went above and beyond the call of duty":

"It's one thing reading things on a website, but having someone go through it with you on the phone and be able to talk things through, was so helpful".

Time RAS takes to respond

5.30 RAS has a 20 days turnaround target to respond to enquirers. This is in line with the general aim of the Executive to respond to enquiries within this timeframe and the requirements of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Our evaluation found that there were times during RAS's first year when this target was not met. (source: customer survey and mystery shopping) Factors affecting RAS response times have been:

• Unanticipated high level of customer contact following promotional work (article in Hindustani Times). This influenced response times in the first quarter of 2005 when the average time for customer response was around a month. RAS brought in additional staff on a temporary basis to help address this backlog.
• Restricted staff availability due to holidays or sickness absence.
• A technical problem with RAS's email in-box in Autumn 2005 which resulted in delays in responding to customer queries in late September and early October.

5.31 The evaluation found a wide range of response times for customers contacting RAS by email or letter. 30% of customers responding to our survey received a reply within a week, a further 18% within two weeks, and 20% within a month. 15% waited longer than a month for a reply (source: customer survey). (Figure 5.6)

Figure 5.6 - How long RAS took to reply to email or letter

Base: All who sent a letter or email to RAS (669)

Source: BMRB customer survey

5.32 Three quarters (75%) of customers were happy with the time RAS took to respond to their email or letter. As might be expected there was a relationship between the length of response time and levels of happiness about the response time (see table below). Over seven in ten customers who waited a month or longer were not happy with this response time. (source: customer survey).

Table 5.1 Relationship between response time and happiness with response time

5.33 The evaluation found that there was a link between the length of response time and satisfaction with RAS overall. For example, the average satisfied customer received a response within a week to two weeks whereas the average dissatisfied customer received a response between two and four weeks after they submitted their original enquiry (source: customer survey).

5.34 Customers varied in what they considered was an adequate time for RAS to respond. While some wanted a reply within a set time frame, others were more relaxed about this. One student, who did not receive a response for three months, felt that:

"Actually when I applied, the law was just coming out so when I applied in February, they replied by May. But I didn't blame them for that, (Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme) was in the process of coming out".

5.35 Others expected a much faster reply, for example one student who received a response within a month stated that:

"It shouldn't be more than a week for the response. That's my ideal perception, but it depends on what volumes they had".

5.36 Satisfaction with the response time may be linked to customers' expectations. One woman seeking employment noticed that the website stated she would get a reply within a week, and therefore was very happy when she received a reply within one day.

Quality of RAS responses to queries

Extent to which queries are resolved

5.37 Around four fifths of customers received either some (39%) or all (49%) of the information they requested from RAS, with no significant differences according to method of contact - letter, e-mail or telephone. (Figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7 - Whether received information requested in phone call vs letter/email

Base: All who contacted RAS by letter, email, or telephone
Source: BMRB customer survey

Variation in how customers received perceive quality of RAS response

5.38 The evaluation found that workers were more likely than students to say they did not receive the information they requested, 13% of workers said they did not receive the information requested compared to 1% of students (source: customer survey). There were not enough employers in the sample to analyse this group separately.

5.39 In the qualitative interviews with students, all respondents felt that they had received at least some, if not all of the information they requested from RAS. Generally they were positive about the responses they received. They felt the information was "useful" and "relevant".

5.40 Some students we spoke to noted that RAS had provided more information than requested. For example one student contacted RAS to check if Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme had been approved. RAS confirmed that it had, and gave him information about how the scheme works. He described the information as:

"…very, very useful… I actually forwarded it to some of my other friends from here. It was very helpful because it contained everything I needed then. "

5.41 Those seeking employment that were contacted in the qualitative interviews had mixed views of the information provided by RAS. Some felt that RAS provided them with all the information they requested, others noted they received only some of the information.

5.42 Some of those seeking employment, who were provided with answers to all their questions, were still not satisfied with the response. On closer examination, these customers did not get the answer they wanted. For example a man who was seeking employment wanted to know how he could make his visitor's visa permanent. RAS explained that this could not be done, but also explained about the highly skilled migrant programme, and about Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme. But still he felt

"it did not meet my expectation to tell you the truth, because you never really know how much they're interested in my relocation to Scotland".

5.43 Nine in ten (91%) customer survey respondents felt that the information provided by RAS was easy to understand. Survey respondents reported no significant differences between phone contact and written contact on ease of understanding.

5.44 Almost eight in ten customers (77%) found the information they received useful. A slightly greater proportion of those who had contact with RAS by telephone felt that the information provided was useful, this reflects the fact that questions of clarification can be addressed quickly and easily on the telephone. (Figure 5.8).

5.45 Some customers interviewed in the qualitative stage felt that the information provided by RAS was not useful. For some they already knew about the information provided by RAS. In a small number of instance RAS could not help customers, because the request was outside RAS's remit. In these cases, where possible, RAS directed the employers to organisations who could advise on their enquiries. In these examples the information was sometimes seen as less useful. For example one employer commented:

"no dispersions on the person who tried their best, but I mean I come off the phone thinking that was a bit of a waste of time".

Figure 5.8 - Usefulness of the response from RAS

Base: All who contacted RAS by letter, email, or telephone
Source: BMRB customer survey

Customer expectations about RAS response

5.46 As with all customer evaluations it should be remembered that some customers may be dissatisfied because they hold high, perhaps unrealistic, expectations. With a new service with limited service delivery targets or benchmarks it is difficult to judge whether dissatisfied customers have become so because of sub optimal service delivery or because they hold unrealistic expectations.

5.47 The qualitative interviews with customers highlighted that there were differences in customers' expectations of the service provided by RAS. Most of the customers interviewed did not express any prior knowledge of the aims and objectives of RAS. However some did have preconceptions about what RAS would do for them. One man seeking employment thought that he would receive a personalised relocation service.

"I thought… that I will register there, I will give my data and somebody would contact me and help me. For example, 'hello… we found your registration on the website and we would like to help you in moving to Scotland'".

5.48 After looking at the RAS website, one employer thought that RAS would actively look for people with skills which are lacking in Scotland. He said:

"My perception from the web page was that… they were actively pursuing people to come to Scotland, professionals etc, the demographic downturn, they want to get young people, I just got that off the web page".

5.49 These customers had high expectations of what RAS could deliver and were unsatisfied with the service they received from RAS. However as noted earlier, most customers were satisfied with the service received from RAS.

IMPACT OF RAS

5.50 When considering the impact of RAS, it must be remembered that many factors will influence an individual's decision to migrate to a new country. This will include personal circumstances, the economic condition of the country of origin and the receiving country, and the ability to meet immigration criteria amongst others. The aim of the RAS is to facilitate an individual's decision by bringing together key information into a single point. The existence of the RAS can only ever be one of the number of factors that will help an individual to make the final decision on migration.

5.51 This section examines the extent to which RAS has impacted on customer's thinking about relocating to or remaining in Scotland. In particular the evaluation considered:

• Whether RAS had some influence on customers
• Whether RAS has made people more likely to move to Scotland
• Whether customers have acted on information received
• What impact RAS has made on attitudes about opportunities in Scotland

Influence of RAS on decisions about moving to Scotland

5.52 The evaluation found that for around three quarters of customers, an interaction with RAS had some kind of influence on their decisions about moving to Scotland. 16% said RAS had a 'lot of influence' on them (Figure 5.10).

Figure 5.10 - Influence of RAS on decision to move to/ remain in Scotland

Base: All non-business respondents (858)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.53 One student interviewed in the qualitative stage explained that her contact with RAS had made the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme seem more like a real opportunity. She explained that the only barrier to immigrating would be finding a job:

"I guess it seemed like more of a feasible option and it seemed like a more real option after speaking to them… The only barrier that I perceived to living in Scotland is really just the opportunities, there aren't enough job opportunities here".

5.54 Our analysis suggests that it is life circumstances that prompt a decision to relocate. The survey asked customers how certain they had felt about moving to (or remaining in) Scotland before making contact with RAS, and how certain they felt after making contact with RAS. When comparing these responses, contact with RAS appears to have made little impact on the likelihood to move to (or remain in) Scotland with only a slight increase in those who were very certain about moving to Scotland (Figure 5.9)

Has RAS made people more likely to move?

Figure 5.9 - How certain to move to/ remain in Scotland - before and after contact with RAS

Base: All non-business respondents (858)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.55 The survey asked customers to elaborate on why they were, or were not, certain about moving to Scotland. A number of reasons were given for being certain about relocating to Scotland, such as:

• good job prospects
• strong opportunities to study in Scotland
• quality of life being attractive
• the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme being an attractive option

5.56 Amongst those who were less certain about moving to Scotland, reasons included:

• difficulties in keeping or gaining employment
• visa problems
• financial difficulties
• lack of information about what might happen to them in the future

Have customers acted on RAS information?

5.57 The evaluation examined whether customers had acted on the information they received from RAS. Over a third (37%) of customers said they had acted on the advice or information. 43% of customers said they had not acted on the advice or information. (Figure 5.11)

Figure 5.11 - Whether acted on RAS advice

Base: All respondents (858)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.58 Follow up interviews found that personal circumstances mitigated against people taking action. For some customers, their personal circumstances (e.g. financial, family commitments and commitments to studies / work) meant they did not act on the information given at this time. One student explained that she had not acted on visa application information as she had found a job - based half in Scotland and half abroad, so she did not need a visa. However she felt that she would be able to act on the information RAS gave her once this one year contract ended.

" It actually made me want to relocate to Scotland… they went to all this trouble, it was really wonderful. It gave me a really positive feeling about the whole thing, and it was great just to be more informed to know exactly what the situation is".

5.59 Some customers considered their contact with RAS had not helped them progress their relocation to Scotland. Generally these customers were seeking employment, who had hoped that RAS would be able to offer tailored assistance finding a job in Scotland. They were often already aware of the information RAS gave them or had already taken the steps suggested by RAS.

Perceptions of opportunities in Scotland

5.60 The evaluation examined customers' views about Scotland. Customers were asked to respond to four agreement statements about Scotland. (Figure 5.12). The evaluation found :

• Over two-thirds (68%) of RAS customers agree that Scotland is positively viewed as encouraging hard working people to move here.
• The majority agree that Scotland offers them work or study opportunities - (65% and 84% respectively ¹⁷).

(Figure 5.12)

Figure 5.12 - Agreement with statements about Scotland

Base: All respondents (863) *All students (159)
Source: BMRB customer survey

5.61 Students were generally more positive across these statements than workers. Those who were dis-satisfied with RAS, or were less certain about moving to Scotland were also less positive in their views.

5.62 Around a third (36%) of customers agreed that other countries were better than Scotland at attracting hard working people. Students were more likely to say this than workers (45% vs. 35%). Those who were uncertain about moving to Scotland were more likely to say this than average (41% vs. 36%). Those who were dissatisfied with RAS were more likely to say this, over half (51%) of those who were dis-satisfied with RAS thought other countries were better at attracting hard workers, compared to 34% of those who were satisfied with RAS. Accession countries were less likely than average to think other countries were better at attracting hard workers (19% vs. 36%).

FAIRNESS

5.63 The evaluation examined how customer satisfaction and perceived influence of RAS varied by country of origin, age, fluency in English, gender and educational background. This analysis was conducted in order to understand whether RAS is providing a fair and equitable service to all types of customers. The Relocation Advisory Service is covered by the Scottish Executive's legal obligations in relation to equal opportunity and diversity. It is also covered by the Executive's vision of an organisation that is at the centre of Scottish civic life, widely trusted, by earning a reputation for openness, helpfulness, expertise and effectiveness.

5.64 The evaluation found :

• There was only minor variation in satisfaction levels by country of origin
• Younger customers were more satisfied than older customers, however this mainly relates to their identity as students.
• The evaluation found that students were significantly more likely to be satisfied than workers.
• There were no differences in satisfaction levels by educational background
• There were no differences in satisfaction levels by gender, although men were more likely than women to say they were influenced by RAS.
• Customers less fluent in English were more satisfied with RAS (compared with customers who were more fluent). They were also more likely to say they were influenced by RAS.

5.65 It should be noted that we were not able to collect details on ethnicity in the survey, as ethnic groups are interpreted differently in different countries. Instead, country of origin was collected, and countries were grouped into the following categories for analysis purposes: EU Accession, Rest of EU, Eastern European, Middle East, Asian, African, Americas and Other.

Satisfaction by country of origin

5.66 Satisfaction levels vary slightly by country of origin. Customers from the EU (excluding Accession countries) were less satisfied than average (58% compared to an average of 77%). Those from EU Accession countries experienced average levels of satisfaction with RAS. Those from African countries (81%) and the Middle East (80%) were most satisfied. (Figure 5.13)

Figure 5.13 - Satisfaction with RAS - by country of origin

Base: All respondents
Source: BMRB customer survey

Satisfaction by age and student or. worker

5.67 The evaluation found that younger customers were more likely to be satisfied with RAS than older customers (80% of those aged 16 to 34 compared with 71% of those aged 35 and over). However when controlling for current status (i.e. student or worker) age appears to be less important. Rather the key factor here is whether the customer is a student or a worker. Students are significantly more likely to be satisfied with RAS compared to workers (83% vs. 76%). (Figure 5.14)

Figure 5.14 - Satisfaction with RAS

Base: All customer survey respondents (863)
Source: BMRB mystery shopping survey

Satisfaction by level of fluency in English

5.68 The evaluation found that those who were less fluent in English were more satisfied with RAS. For example 75% of those with 'excellent' English were satisfied and 78% of those with good English were satisfied compared to 80% of those with fair or poor English (source: customer survey).

5.69 On the other hand, those who were less fluent in English found it harder to understand RAS' email responses. Overall 92% of respondents found emails easy to understand. This figure was only 86% for those with Fair or bad English (source: customer survey).

Satisfaction by educational background and gender

5.70 The customer survey showed no significant differences in satisfaction according to education background and gender.

Perceived influence by different subgroups

5.71 There was some differences in perceived influence of RAS by different groups:

• Men were more likely to consider that RAS had an influence on them compared to women (55% and 40% respectively)
• Those with no family connections to Scotland were more likely to consider that RAS had influenced their decision (53% compared with 29% of those who had family in the country).
• Those who described their level of English as fair or poor were more likely to have been influenced by RAS (63%) than those who felt it was good/ excellent (49%).

5.72 The latter two findings may be explained by the assumption that those with family in Scotland and those with good English may have already been acquainted with the information RAS has to offer.

Customer suggestions for improvement

5.73 As part of this evaluation, we asked customers if they had any suggestions for improvements to RAS. The two main suggestions identified were:

• to provide a more tailored service to individuals, rather than just providing general information (around 20% of customers).
• respond more quickly (around 19% of customers) - see figure 5.15 below:

Figure 5.15 - Customer suggestions for improvement

Base: All respondents (863)
Source: BMRB customer survey

Those with a higher level of education and those with better English and in skilled jobs were more likely to suggest a better tailoring of the service (Source: Customer survey). Expectations from some was that RAS should offer a personalised, case-managed service similar to that offered by some Recruitment Agencies. One man seeking employment said:

" I expected something more, I thought that they would be more helpful… for example, 'you can work here, you can find a job on this website or on that website, you can buy such a newspaper… you can buy an apartment or you can rent an apartment'".

SUMMARY

5.74 The main findings from this chapter are:

Efficiency

• Face to face contact was the most expensive communication in terms of unit cost. Telephone communication was close behind. Email contact and letter contact were the least expensive communications for RAS.
• On crude measures the average cost per client was around £47. For similar services, such as those offered by Careers Scotland or Jobcentre Plus, costs per client are approximately £100 per client. The average cost per minute of the service is higher than the average cost per minute (£0.60) of the services investigated by the National Audit Office ( NAO), but lower than a small number of bespoke small scale services considered by the NAO.

Customer satisfaction

• Around eight in ten (77%) customers felt satisfied with RAS overall, with 27% of customers very satisfied and 50% of customers fairly satisfied.
• The evaluation found that students were significantly more likely to be satisfied than workers.
• The evaluation found that most customers who telephoned RAS were pleased with their interaction with members of staff.

Response times

• There have been times during the year when RAS has not met its target for responding to queries within 20 days. This has been during periods where RAS has experienced capacity issues and technical difficulties.
• 65% of customers waited less than a month for a reply to their e-mail or letter query. Over seven in ten customers who waited a month or longer were not happy with this response time (source: customer survey).

Quality of RAS response

• Around four in ten (39%) customers felt they had received all the information they requested from RAS and half of respondents (49%) said they received some of the information requested.
• Students were more likely than workers to say their query had been fully resolved.
• Nine in ten (91%) customer survey respondents felt that the information provided by RAS was easy to understand.

Impact

• 37% of customers said they had acted on the advice or information received from RAS. 43% of customers said they had not acted on the advice or information. Qualitative interviews found that many could not act on the information due to personal circumstances, for example, financial reasons, family commitments and commitments to studies or work at home.
• for 77% of customers an interaction with RAS had some kind of influence on their decisions about moving to Scotland.

Attitudes towards Scotland

• The majority agree that Scotland offers them opportunities to work or study - (65% vs. 84% respectively).
• Over two-thirds (68%) of RAS customers agree that Scotland is positively viewed as encouraging hard working people to move here.
• Students were generally more positive about opportunities in Scotland than workers. Those who were dis-satisfied with RAS, or were less certain about moving to Scotland, were less positive in their views.

Fairness

• There were no differences in satisfaction levels by educational background, gender, country of origin or fluency in English.

Suggestions for improvement

• The two main suggestions for improvement received from customers were to provide a more tailored service to individuals and to respond more quickly. Those suggesting a more tailored service tended to be better educated and highly skilled.

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